Teyana Taylor’s Cat Face Explained

Sunday night’s MTV VMAs provided a lot of water cooler moments and trending topics. Kanye West provided one when he premiered his video for The Life of Pablo single “Fade.” The clip stars a sweaty Teyana Taylor dancing in a gym to the track. The visual is reminiscent of the hit ’80s dance flick Flashdance.

Taylor performs her moves with power and precision. Eventually, she’s joined by her real-life fiancee, Cleveland Cavaliers player Iman Shumpert, in a steamy shower scene. The video ends with Taylor having turned into a catwoman leaning on Shumpert with an infant surrounded by sheep.

In an interview with Pitchfork, one of the choreographers Jae Blaze explained the meaning of her cat face at the end of the video. “I think the vision behind that was how amazing Teyana is, and how she’s been on the rise, and how she’s working,” said Blaze. “You are now seeing her blossom into this fierce lioness, this fierce cat. She has worked her way into that, and she’s in a great position right now in her life. She has her family. She’s being held down by her amazing husband. She has a beautiful daughter. You know, the lioness always protects her baby. I think it really is about her coming into her fierceness. And that’s where she is in her life right now. She is blossoming.”